DIARY – TOWCESTER
– SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER 2009
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Having discovered
that Choc would be riding at Towcester and he had 5 riding engagements, I
decided I had to make my third visit to the course. In addition, Martin Keighley had 2 runners
– Won More Night and Hareem. Besides,
I’d not been racing since 22 September, partly because there had been no
suitable fixtures and partly because of injuries sustained in a fall on 09
October (when I’d had a very close encounter with a very hard pavement – ouch!). As my car was running low on petrol I set off just before 08:00
to go to the local supermarket to fill the tank. I returned, took a shower,
washed my hair, applied make-up and took a painkiller to combat any residual
pain following my fall. I left home at 09:45, as I wanted to travel via Milton Keynes to
pay a visit to their Hobbycraft store to purchase a few odds and ends for my
Christmas craft projects! And, as
usual, I spent more than I should have done ... but I just cannot resist
craft shops! Anyway, I arrived at Towcester racecourse at 11:35, and parked
close to the horsebox area. I noticed
a number of trainers’ boxes - Brendan Powell, Henrietta Knight, Paul Webber,
Jonathan Portman, and Caroline Bailey. Having purchased a programme, I went to stand by the Parade
Ring. It was sunny but there was a
very strong breeze, and I was very glad that I’d decided upon 3 layers of
clothing plus coat! At one point it
began to spit with rain, although the sun still shone. A bad hair day according to Matt Chapman of
ATR ... how right he was!!! The first race of the day was due off at 13:25. Choc was to ride Lord Generous – an ex-Paul
Nicholls inmate. When Choc arrived in
the Parade Ring he walked across to meet the trainer, who was alone. Once
mounted, and as is usually the case, Choc was the first competitor out onto
the course, cantering up past the winning post to reach the start.
The
field was led off by Palypso De Creek, a recent French import and winner over
both hurdles and fences in France. All
For A Star soon took over the running, with the hard-pulling Cheapside close
up too. Choc was travelling in mid-field,
in his preferred inside rail berth.
Silver Bay brought up the rear. As
they travelled down the back straight, having completed one circuit, Choc
started to ease Lord Generous out from the rail until, by the time they were
approaching the home straight, he was on the outside of the field and had a
clear run. Global Flyer briefly held
the lead as they approached 3 out, then Palypso De Creek took over, Choc
close behind. Varekai fell at the 3rd
last, when in rear. Choc
administered two smacks with his whip around the final bend but, although
with every chance two out, the French import had too much in hand (and too
much experience) for Lord Generous, who finished in 2nd place, 4½ lengths
behind the winner on the line.
Despite
having finished 2nd, Choc unsaddled Lord Generous in the Pre-Parade Ring,
where the unplaced horses are unsaddled.
Then Choc ducked under the railings to return to the Weighing Room. The horse was led into the Winners’
Enclosure so that he could be washed down.
I noticed the horse had a cut to his off-hind heel, which the trainer
did examine. Choc’s
mount in the second race of the day was a large dark brown horse named
Ballygalley Bob, trained by Oliver Sherwood, and a previous winner at the track. Once mounted, the horses cantered up past
the stands to the reach the start, which was over on the far side of the
track. Whilst everyone was waiting
for the race to start, the course caught the edge of a shower cloud and, as
the sun was still shining in the vicinity, a rainbow appeared too.
Then
they were off. The field was led away
by Cold Mountain. Choc was close up, disputing
the lead, the horse taking a couple of fences to warm to his jumping
task. By the 6th fence, Choc had taken
the lead from Cold Mountain as he was travelling the better of the two. Aberdeen Park, on her first outing over the
larger obstacles, made a mistake at the 12th and was pulled up 3 out. As
they reached the end of the back straight for the final time, Flemish Invader
put in a challenge, but to no avail, as Choc drove his mount up the steep
incline and over the final two obstacles to win by 6 lengths from the staying
on Harris Bay and Cold Mountain.
Flemish Invader finished last, as Sam Twiston-Davies pulled the horse
up on the run-in having suffered a problem.
So
Bob and Bob had won! Choc’s 26th winner
of the season. I returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see Choc being led
back in, unsaddle and pose for a photograph before returning to the Weighing Room. It was now time for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle,
in which Choc would be riding the Alan King trained runner, Asturienne – a
half sister to Lough Derg. It was very
noticeable how slightly built most of the mares in this race were, especially
when compared to the big burly chasers competing in the previous race! Garafena
and Elegant Olive had been given permission to go to the start early but, as
it turned out, they were the last out onto the course instead! The start of this event was at the
beginning of the home straight. As it
was autumn and the sun was low in the sky, there were concerns that it would
be shining in the horses’ and, presumably, the jockeys’ eyes as they
travelled up the home straight. With
this in mind, the Clerk of the Course, Robert Bellamy, was on hand to speak
with Choc and Roddy Greene, who had cantered their mounts up to the first
flight to take a look at the problem.
They decided it was safe and no flights were omitted.
Then
they were off. Oh No Rosa led them away,
but was very awkward at the first flight, jumping severely to the left and
interfering with those following her.
The mare jumped to her left over both the second and third flights
too, but luckily the remainder of the field were wise to this by now. However, she still retained the lead. Choc
travelled one out from the inside rail aboard Asturienne. Having moved up through the field, Choc
made a decisive challenge 2 out and galloped on to win by 11 lengths from the
staying on Naughty Naughty. The two
riders who had been consulted about the ‘sunshine’ problem completing in
first and second. Choc had been
particularly keen on the mare’s chances, as he had turned down the
opportunity to go to Wincanton where, I understand, he would have had the opportunity
to choose from 3 Alan King horses running in 2 separate events at the
fixture.
Choc’s
27th winner of the season. I returned
to the Winners’ Enclosure to see Choc arrive back. As the horse runs in the pale blue and
brown colours of the Million In Mind Partnership, there were a group of
owners to greet him. Choc acknowledged
the applause as he was led back in to unsaddle, speak with connections, and
pose for a photograph before returning to the Weighing Room. Shortly
before the jockeys arrived in the Parade Ring for the next race of the day,
it was announced that David England would be riding Ammunition, replacing
Choc. I later read (in Alan King’s
blog) that Choc was feeling ‘one degree under’ and had decided to give up his
remaining 2 rides. Perhaps the
after-effects of last Thursday’s Ludlow fall, combined with having to waste
down to 10 stone to ride Bakbenscher at Chepstow the previous day. Anyway,
once the horses had exited onto the course, I decided to cross the horse-walk
exit track and I moved down beside the rails towards the last fence to get a
better view of the proceedings.
Although, on the down side, it was very difficult to see the big
screen from that position! The start of
this race was over in the far corner of the track, down by the
riverside.
Auditor
was initially reluctant to line up, but once he had consented to start he
soon went into the lead alongside Ronald Jack, followed by Jacarado,
Ammunition and Sarobar. Auditor
lead until approaching the 9th obstacle, when he was headed by course and
distance winner Jacarado. Ronald Jack
weakened and was pulled up before 2 out.
Auditor faded into last place.
Ammunition chased the Robin Dickin trained Jacarado to the line but
could not peg him back. The grey,
Sarabar, finished a close 3rd. It was
Jacarado’s 4th win at the course.
I
returned to the Parade Ring in preparation for the next race, in which Martin
Keighley had the first of his two runners. Whilst
the horses were parading prior to the fifth race, it was announced that
William Kennedy would replace Choc aboard Alfatrix. Young Tom Bellamy was leading Won More
Night around the Parade Ring, and Belinda and Martin Keighley were joined by
Tom’s dad (and Clerk of the Course), Robert, in the paddock. Won More Night was to be ridden by stable
jockey, Warren Marston. I knew it was
Tom, as I’d seen him interviewed on TV the previous weekend in connection
with the Pony Race finals held at Cheltenham. Once
again, the horses having exited onto the track, I headed down towards the
final fence to get a good view of the horses as they jumped it, which they
would do twice during this event. The start
of the race was at the far end of the home straight.
Then
they were off. Unfortunately the starter
had let the horses go before Won More Night was ready, and she set off behind
the remainder of the runners. The
field was led by Intense Suspense, alongside Bennynthejets, with Musical Weld
and Croon in close contention. Won
More Night, having travelled in rear, was brought down when one of the greys,
What Happened, fell at the 5th last fence.
The other grey, Wherrimon, was also brought down in the mêlée. As I was standing down by the last fence, I
was unable to view the incident on the big screen, but the commentator said
that all the horses had got up okay.
Although a long way away, I could just make out the horses galloping
after the field, however I think Won More Night soon stopped, and turned
around to trot back in the opposite direction. Croon
briefly took over the lead 5 out but was headed by both Bennynthejets and
Rince Donn as they turned in. However,
Croon rallied approaching the final obstacle for one last challenge but
Bennynthejets was too good and went on the win by 3¼ lengths. Alfatrix ran on to take 2nd, with Croon finishing
in 3rd place. Rince Donn faded into 5th.
The
piloted horses having finished, one of the groundsmen ducked under the rails,
saying he’d better get off the course as there were 3 loose horses. The 2 greys soon galloped by, none the
worse for their mishap, and Won More Night was not with them. A number of vehicles set off down the track
towards the site of the incident, I understand one was carrying Belinda
Keighley and Tom Bellamy. After a
while I decided to set off back to the Parade Ring, and overheard another
conversation, informing me that number 5 (Won More Night) had been caught and
led back across the course. I was
relieved that she was okay. The
fallen jockeys, Andrew Thornton and Warren Marston were fine. James Halliday, the rider aboard What
Happened, was taken to Northampton Hospital for precautionary tests. As
I had arrived late at the Parade Ring, I couldn’t get close to the rails to
see the horses competing in the next race.
Martin Keighley also had a runner in this event, Hareem, ridden by
Danny Hiskett. Danny had ridden his
first winner the previous Tuesday, when triumphing aboard Love of Tara at
Exeter. Dave Cull was leading Hareem
around the Parade Ring. Gemma
Tutty was also taking part in this race, her first under rules, aboard a
horse called Insignia. She’s one of
the two point-to-point riders who are being sponsored by Choc. Again
the start of this race was at the far end of the home straight.
Then
they were off. The runners were led
away by Nearly A Breeze. Hareem runs better
when handy, but unfortunately he set off near the back of the field. Classic Fly took over the lead after the
2nd flight, with Don’t Think Twice assuming it by the third. Classic
Fly resumed the lead 3 out along with Amwell Brave, but the former was caught
close to the line by the Oliver Greenall ridden Vincenzio. It was a blanket finish between the next 8
runners, 3 lengths covering the distance from the 3rd to the 10th placed
horses – the handicapping working out well!
Hareem was never closer than at the line, and he finished in 6th
place. Two
horses failed to complete, Fixed Interest having fallen 3 out and Kingscourt
Lad unseating its rider at the last.
As
Hareem had been unplaced and would not be returning to the Winners’
Enclosure, I decided it was time to leave.
Once I’d arrived back at my car I spent time waiting for the queues to
clear. I eventually left as the sun
was beginning to set, just before 17:00, although I did have to join the back
of a queue of vehicles on the lane leading to the A5. There
was a 50 mph limit on the A5 past Milton Keynes due to road-works to resurface
the dual carriageway. I’d reached
Dunstable by 17:30 but there was a long tailback due to single file traffic
through more road-works. It took me
over 20 minutes to travel through the town, and I reached home at 18:15. |
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